Is the venture capital industry back? The latest report from Thomson Reuters and the National Venture Capital Association shows that U.S. VC firms raised $20.6 billion from 182 funds during 2012. After being nearly cut in half from 2008 ($25.6 billion) to 2010 ($13.7 billion), it marks a second straight year of growth despite the number of funds dropping slightly (187 in 2011 to 182 in 2012).

According to the latest index from the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council, South Dakota has the most entrepreneur-friendly policy environment in the U.S. The U.S. Business Policy Index evaluates each of the states on 46 policy measures with an emphasis on taxes, regulatory burdens and government spending.

The 113th Congress was sworn into office on Thursday last week. There are 97 new members, but little change from the 112th. The Senate has 13 new members with the Democrats maintaining control -- increasing their edge to 55-45. The House of Representatives has 84 new members with the Republicans maintaining control -- slipping a few seats to outnumber Democrats 233-200.

With 2012 now in the rearview mirror, we take a look at the most popular PDE posts at entrepreneurship.org. Global content dominates the top of the list with six of the ten posts covering Africa, Brazil, Canada, Chile, the United Kingdom and a global ranking of the top startup ecosystems.

Unless you completely unplugged over the holidays, you know that if Democratic and Republican lawmakers could not bridge their differences on how best to reduce the nation's budget deficit and debt, the Budget Control Act of 2011 mandated a combination of spending cuts and tax increases to take effect January 1, 2013. While Washington kicked the can down the road on budget cuts, the cliff was avoided – but what does the deal mean for American entrepreneurs?

At the Global Entrepreneurial Summit (GES) in Dubai last week, it was clear to me that there is a new level of engagement in developing more entrepreneurial economies at the highest levels of government in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The summit, a collaboration between the U.A.E. Prime Minister’s office and the Obama Administration, was an effort to leverage U.S. strengths in high growth entrepreneurship. Now that the summit is over, we take a look at the challenges before policymakers in the region in making the path easier for even more nascent entrepreneurs to succeed in the future.

The latest survey from the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM) has started to outline the impact of technology transfer on the overall U.S. economy. According to a press release from AUTM.Read More

A recent global index shows the U.S. on the outside looking in of the world’s most prosperous countries. The 2012 Legatum Prosperity Index shows the trio of Scandinavian countries—Norway, Denmark and Sweden—at the top of the list while the U.S. has fallen out of the top 10 for the first time.

A network of U.S. cities facilitating a weekly entrepreneur education program. Go to 1 Million Cups >

Whether you are starting or growing a company, FastTrac will help you live your dream at each stage.Go to FastTrac >

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